Since Sunday noon, Takamoto Katsuta, official Toyota driver, has become the leader of the World Rally Championship. A first in history as he becomes the first Japanese to be at the top of the WRC. This rewards his great consistency at the beginning of the season and hard work since his early days in rallying.
WRC, could the 2026 season be Takamoto Katsuta’s?
But who is Takamoto Katsuta? You’ve seen his name for years, but do you know his unconventional journey?
Takamoto Katsuta was born on March 17, 1993, in Nagoya, Japan. He is the son of Norihiko, the national rally champion in 2008 and 8-time winner in the Gr.N category in Japan. Takamoto started his career on circuits, first in karting and then in Formula 3. He then participated in a show to discover “the new star” of rallying in Japan.
The champion of this unique selection is offered a contract with Toyota for their Junior program. “Taka,” as he is nicknamed, wins the competition and thus completes his first full season in 2015 driving for Toyota and Subaru. He made his WRC debut driving a Ford Fiesta R5 for Team TMR (Tommi Mäkinen Rally), then Toyota’s Team Manager in the World Rally Championship.
He continued his learning in lower divisions before debuting in the premier category at Rally Germany in 2019, where he finished 10th. He then trained in Finland to be closer to the TGR WRT team base and improve his skills. In 2020, he was promoted to the official WRC team. He achieved his first stage win at the Rally de Monza at the end of that peculiar season. He stood on the podium for the first time in Kenya the following year.
Since then, he has regularly fought for the podium in some unconventional rallies (Kenya, Sweden, Finland, Japan, …), but inconsistency has deprived him of victory … until a few weeks ago at the 2026 Safari Rally Kenya where he became the second Japanese driver in history to win a WRC round.
On Sunday, following Thierry Neuville’s mistake in the Power Stage, he won his second rally! A surprising second consecutive victory that rewards hard work, true dedication to the sport, and serious competition.
With this success and due to errors by Elfyn Evans and Oliver Solberg, he is now leading the championship! In 15 days, in the Canary Islands, he will have the opportunity to score big points again and possibly maintain this leadership position.
“If “Taka” has been a somewhat irregular driver since 2020, he is nevertheless the most appreciated driver in the paddock by his peers. A golden personality that easily explains Toyota’s continued trust over the years.
Stay tuned in the coming months to find out what “Taka” will accomplish behind the wheel of his Toyota Yaris Rally1, car number 18.
Article published on 04/15/2026 at 5:55 AM.
